31 July, 2017
"The personnel of the US diplomatic missions in Russia will be cut by 755 people and will now equal the number of the Russian diplomatic personnel in the United States, 455 people on each side", Putin said in an interview with Vesti.ru channel, according to Russian state media.
"However, this is possible only on the basis of equality, mutual respect and a balancing of interests", the ministry statement added.
After the financial crisis, gaining momentum in 2008, imports took a dent but recovered until peaking in 2011, when they started falling rapidly - well before the first sanctions were imposed.
Moscow has responded by ordering a reduction in the number of U.S. diplomats in Russian Federation and closing the U.S. Embassy's recreation retreat. Germany warned it would not accept sanctions that targeted companies involved with Russia's energy sector. The US Embassy said the ambassador had expressed his "strong disappointment and protest".
The spokesperson declined to comment on the current number of U.S. diplomats and staff in Russia, but Russian wires cited "informed sources" saying hundreds of people would have to leave.
Obama ordered out 35 Russian diplomats and closed down two embassy summer houses that Washington said were being used by Moscow to spy on the US.
Russia's response suggests it has set aside initial hopes of better ties with Washington under Mr Trump, something the U.S. leader, before he was elected, had said he wanted to achieve.
Putin said in an interview televised on state television on Sunday that he ordered the move because he "thought it was the time to show that we're not going to leave that without an answer".
Relations were already at a post-Cold War low after U.S. intelligence agencies accused Russian Federation of trying to interfere in last year's United States presidential election to boost Mr Trump's chances, something Moscow flatly denies. All of this was done in response to the US sanctions approved this week by the US Senate, which Moscow claimed to be illegal. The measure also includes a provision that would limit Trump's authority to lift the sanctions unilaterally.
The two countries thrashed out a ceasefire in the south of the war-torn nation despite being on opposing sides of the conflict.
